


Pillow Talk

by asgardianbackseatbickering



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-03-07 20:44:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3182513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asgardianbackseatbickering/pseuds/asgardianbackseatbickering
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony wakes from a nightmare with Loki by his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pillow Talk

**Author's Note:**

  * For [textbooknarcissism](https://archiveofourown.org/users/textbooknarcissism/gifts).



> I've said it before, titles and summaries are not my thing and they never will be.
> 
> Anyway, this is a little something that revolves around Tony's nightmares (~how original~) and how those fit in his relationship with Loki and just about how their relationship functions in general too, I guess. 
> 
> It's also the first time I have written as Tony so apologies if it sucks.

Nightmares were far from being a rare occurence for Tony, not after Afghanistan and the alien battle of New York. Images from his time spent in captivity, the hardship he has endured both physically as mentally, more often than not flashed vividly before his eyes whenever he succumbed to sleep and tonight was proving to be no different.

Dim light surrounded him as he found himself waking up in that dark, humid cave again, disoriented and aching to the bone, before sheer panic rose within him when his focus fell on the device implanted in the middle of his chest and the attached wires which led to the run-down car battery he laid hooked on to.

A shudder running down his spine and he felt his strength seep from his muscles and his lungs unable to draw enough air as his heartbeat was coming down to a halt; the reactor having been disconnected, stolen; and he was reaching out desperately for its replacement on top of the desk in front of him. 

A violent twitch of his sleeping form and nausea settled in the pit of his stomach, its effects leaking into his system and bringing him ever closer to his ill fate with every passing hour. No matter how many times he wished the numbers on the display of his blood test would decrease their percentage.

A distressed cry leaving his lips and he was suddenly weightless while staring up at a black void, right before his vision faded and his lifeless body started to plummet toward the ground at an alarming speed.

But while this was usually the point where he would jerk awake, covered in a sheen of sweat while breathlessly clutching his chest, there was something preventing him from doing so this time. Threads of vibrant green now shimmered loosely around him like an eerie glow. They solidified, slowly but surely assuming the shape of a serpent which proceeded to slither its way from down at his feet up to the blue and white light of the reactor where in the flash of a mere second it hissed in anger and launched forward to sink its teeth painfully into his skin.

And that was what startled the mechanic abruptly out of his slumber, eyes flying open only to end up staring right into that same rich green as the trickster leaned over him with concern edged upon his brow and one of his hands placed flat against the magnetic core.

"Uh, hey, Lokes," Tony called out with a slight cough, releasing a strained breath and fidgeting somewhat in his spot as his mind still needed to return to a calmer state and his heart rate to its normal pace. "Did I wake you?"

A short nod from the god was his answer. 

"You were restless again."

The inventor lifted a hand to wipe heavily across his forehead and swallowed the lump in his throat before he replied, his voice laced with forced cheerfulness.

“Yeah. What a surprise, huh?”

"About this?" Loki asked softly, tracing a slender finger around the outer rim of the reactor humming beneath his touch.

A curious brow arched then. It was the first time the deity actually asked about it whereas otherwise, on previous occasions, he would merely inquire if Tony was alright and return to falling right back to sleep. Still, a quiet pause passed wherein he neither acknowledged or disproved and that moment in itself was enough for the Asgardian to come to his own conclusion. He shifted, nestling himself closer against the man, and rested his head upon his shoulder; his gaze fixed on the device he was still drawing circles around.

"You know, I have always wondered about it," the prince continued, "Does it hurt?"

Tony, as by force of habit by now, wrapped an arm around his unlikely lover; his fingers running lightly along his ribs; and took another silent moment to contemplate his answer. He had not mentioned his nightmares involved more than this sole subject but somehow he was certain Loki was already well aware of it. The fact that he had chosen not to inquire about any concerning New York wasn't ignorance in his opinion but a sign-well, frankly- that it was still too soon for it. Of all Stark's dealings that was the most recent one, after all, the one were Loki had been personally involved in, and by that definition no easy bridge to cross.

He didn't worry about it all too much, though, nor felt the desire to force it. The time would come where both of them would feel ready to address the matter and until then, baby steps, as they say, and sharing something this personal to him was the first one.

"Depends," the mechanic explained then while he watched the lazy motions of Loki's finger, "That fluctuates, really, but I always feel it's there."

"And it keeps you alive, correct?"

It could just be his imagination but the god's voice seemed to have become even more hushed, careful as if he feared to overstep his boundaries. It caused the slightest hint of a smirk to tug at the corners of his lips.

"You could say that. Basically, it's a fancy magnet if, you know, you skip some minor details." Tony raised his free hand to give the reactor's surface a light tap. "Without it, the shrapnel inside of me is free to dig its way further to my heart and when that happens...well, you're smart enough to figure that one out."

Loki let out a small hum in confirmation and for a heartbeat silence stretched between them again.

"I cannot imagine what it must be like for you, Stark," he resumed in his usual velvet tone, "To have your life depend on this and know that it could very well be ripped from you with the slightest effort." 

As the prince spoke, he had stopped tracing those circles and changed the position of his hand to now gently grip onto the edges of the device and something along the lines of sudden panic did shoot through the inventor yet reason caught up with him just as quickly, stopping him from bolting.

"I know," Tony stated matter-of-factly, seeking out to take the trickster's hand in his and intertwine their fingers, "But I am trusting you not to."

Loki's head lifted all too quickly in response, green eyes filled with surprise shooting up to lock onto brown ones while he was rendered momentarily speechless. The Asgardian hadn't specifically named himself but it was another thing that troubled him, surely, Tony believed. How his former enemy could sleep peacefully next to someone like him who had taken the lives of men before without flinching and truth be told, he hadn't quite sorted it out himself yet. He just did and he trusted the god. Maybe because his own reputation was far from innocent and he found some common ground or maybe simply because he figured if the other had wished to dispose of him he would have long done so by now instead of wasting his precious time becoming his partner.

You could never make Loki do something he didn't want to, anyway, that much he had already learned during their short time together.

Huffing out a breath after a moment, the prince lightly shook his head next while a faint smile twitched upon his lips despite his attempts to conceal it and leaned in to kiss the mechanic, short but sincere, before rolling onto his back again, tugging the man along with him so they swapped positions while mumbling something Tony could have sworn sounded like him being a fool. Alright, he didn't exactly say he trusted him back but that was close enough.

"You ought to try and get some more sleep," the deity finally murmured, tightening his embrace slightly further while exhaling a long, slow breath as fatigue caught up with him as well. "And I will be here should you wake again."

Those last words made Tony practically melt into Loki's side, content and with a sense of feeling genuinely safe, a smile spread across his features and his arms wrapped snugly around the god in return.

Yeah, this could actually work.

 


End file.
